The 2016 T+L Photo Contest, Round 2: Meet Finalist Jodi Nasser

Erika Owen

December 06, 2016

Follow along as we introduce the finalists of the 2016 T+L Photo Contest. These nine photographers come from all over the United States—but their photos span the entire world. For Round 2 of the contest, we asked each finalist to subject a few more of their photographs showcasing their talent and a video outlining why they should be named the winner. Don't forget to vote for your favorite photographer before the voting ends on December 13th.

Jodi Nasser—a California native you can now find snapping shots in New York City—loves taking landscape and cityscape photos. In fact, her photo of salt flats in Utah caught our judges' eye for its inspiring use of space. "For me, what I love about this picture is the vast emptiness of the foreground," says Travel + Leisure Photo Director Scott Hall. "This photographer does not doesn’t try to force it, she just lets the flatness be the image with the horizon having the mountain range.The light is beautiful—it’s casting this bluish quality across the whole thing. The gradient across the photo is really special.”

But the spatial vastness of this shot wasn't the only thing to applaud. “The color palette is my favorite part, and the way the ground picks up every color that’s in the sky," Travel + Leisure Photo Editor Alex Arnold added.

Like with any photographer passionate about their work, Nasser finds personal motivation and inspiration from sharing the moments around her. "Travel takes you out of your comfort zone: teaches you, challenges you, introduces you to people in different cultures," she says. "I love everything about it. Photography is what gets me up in the morning. There are the most beautiful, places, and things on this Earth. I just want to find them, and if I'm lucky, take their photo."